An auditor may come knocking at your door if you have errors in your payroll that result in a violation of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). It is estimated that more than one-half of all employer groups have misclassified their employees under the FLSA, though many do not realize it.

The ACA requires applicable large employers (ALEs) to offer affordable, minimum value health coverage to their full-time employees in order to avoid possible penalties. Because this employer mandate has been criticized as burdensome for employers and an impediment to business growth, it seems likely that its repeal will be part of any Republican plan to repeal and replace the ACA.

On May 5, 2017, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) issued Revenue Procedure 2017-36 to index the contribution percentages in 2018 for purposes of determining affordability of an employer’s plan under the Affordable Care Act (ACA). For plan years beginning in 2018, employer-sponsored coverage will be considered affordable if the employee’s required contribution for self-only coverage exceeds:

On April 7, 2017, the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA) released the results of its audit to assess the IRS's preparations for ensuring compliance with the employer shared responsibility rules and related reporting requirements under the Affordable Care Act.

The TIGTA audit revealed a number of major system and operational problems that have hindered or delayed the IRS’ enforcement of these provisions. As a result, the IRS has been unable to identify the employers potentially subject to an employer shared responsibility penalty or to assess any penalties.

On May 4, 2017, members of the U.S. House of Representatives voted 217-213 to pass the American Health Care Act (AHCA), after it had been amended several times. The AHCA is the proposed legislation to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act (ACA).

The AHCA needed 216 votes to pass in the House. Ultimately, it passed on a party-line vote, with 217 Republicans and no Democrats voting in favor of the legislation. The AHCA will only need a simple majority vote in the Senate to pass.

On April 14, 2017, the Department of Health and Human Services issued a market stabilization final rule under the Affordable Care Act. The final rule includes new reforms intended to help lower premiums, stabilize the individual and small group health insurance markets and increase choices for the 2018 plan year.

Specifically, the rule includes a variety of policy and operational changes to existing standards to stabilize the Exchanges, including changes to the annual open enrollment period and special enrollment periods.

Several steps have been taken in 2017 toward repealing the Affordable Care Act (ACA), including the introduction of the American Health Care Act (AHCA). Although the AHCA was withdrawn by Republicans, Congress may choose to pursue another ACA repeal and replacement bill in the future.

While the future of the ACA as a whole is currently unclear, some definitive changes have been made to some ACA taxes and fees for 2017.

On March 24, 2017, Republican leadership in the U.S. House of Representatives withdrew the American Health Care Act—their proposed legislation to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act (ACA).

A House vote was scheduled to take place on that day, but House Republicans could not secure enough votes to approve the legislation and, instead, canceled the vote. As a result, the ACA will remain in place at this time.

On March 6, 2017, Republican leadership in the U.S. House of Representatives issued two bills to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act through the budget reconciliation process. These bills, which were issued by the Ways and Means Committee and the Energy and Commerce Committee, are collectively known as the American Health Care Act.

To become law, these bills must go through the legislative process, although a budget reconciliation bill can be passed with a simple majority vote. Debate on the legislation is scheduled to begin on March 8, 2017.

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Step 1: Always use In-Network providers, whenever possible.